On Monday evening, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Product Manager, Tom O’Brien, provided an update on the Data Protection roadmap. A roadmap is a high level development plan that helps customers, business partners and subject matter experts prepare for new capabilities. Check back with the IBM Systems Storage blog for a posting about the Data and Storage Management roadmap, and other storage sessions at InterConnect.

The TSM Family development team is continuing their mission to make IBM storage software more useful (intelligent, intuitive and transparent). The roadmap is focused on innovations that matter, such as better support for hybrid clouds, administration changes that can reduce human error and large scale environment support.

IBM’s transparent development process creates working partnerships with customers throughout the design and development process, with the goals of implementing new features right the first time, and in the right priority order.

I would like to thank the customers who have participated in Beta and Early Access Programs. You’ve done a fantastic job. I encourage readers to participate in these programs and contribute your ideas. If you’re interested, please send a note to Lorena Colston, lcolston@us.ibm.com.

A Storage Pool Called ‘DEDUP’

IBM is building a new type of Storage Pool designed for disk-to-disk backups using TSM deduplication. The new design differs from deduplication in prior TSM versions, in that deduplication occurs in-line, at the time of the backup, rather than later, as a post-processing step. That means TSM deduplication works more like deduplication Data Domain and ProtecTIER deduplication appliances, but without the cost and limitations.

‘Dedup’ storage pools have additional benefits. There is less TSM server processing that can interfere with backup windows: Deduplication, reclamation and database reorganization.

Cloud Storage Pools

Cloud storage pools will give TSM Administrators fast access to nearly infinite amounts of storage pool space. No more waiting for data center storage provisioning. No more stress about running out of space in the backup environment.

What if backup data could overflow onto cloud storage, whenever you needed more space in your on-premises backup environment?

What if old backups migrated to cloud storage until they expired, using an automated disk-to-disk-to cloud process?

What if you could implement a basic multi-site data recovery capability faster, without having to wait for equipment to be deployed in a recovery center?

What if your TSM storage pools could live on the cloud temporarily, to aid a migration or upgrade project?

Cloud storage pools will be easy to deploy. Policies and security are managed from your on-premises TSM environment. TSM servers are not required at the Cloud Service Provider facility.

Web-based self-service restore portal

There’s no service like self-service, especially for data recovery. When data is lost, you want it recovered fast – and the fewer people who know, the better. IBM is building a recovery portal that data owners can use without special training or software. Restores can be requested anytime, from anywhere.

Data Centers and Service Providers will be able to handle day-to-day restore requests without customer service requests or administrator time.

The restore portal is planned initially for VM workloads, but designed to expand to more workloads over time.

Off-site Replication for Everyone

It’s a challenge to move daily backups to recovery centers, in such a way that applications can be recovered quickly should the primary site becomes unavailable. For many organizations, this is an expensive and risky form of insurance, to cover something that will probably never happen. And, like most insurance, it’s no fun to pay or experience a loss.

IBM is making off-site backup replication faster and easier. Set up and monitoring will be integrated into TSM Operations Center. Like other TSM Operations Center features, replication setup is done with a few mouse clicks, and can be monitored at-a-glance, from any browser enabled device.

Performance will be faster, particularly in bad network neighborhoods. Network optimization enables consistently fast throughput, even over long distances and in environments with high packet loss.

These capabilities, combined with Recovery Simulators already available, create a modern data protection environment that gives you confidence your data is protected.

Easier to Buy and Deploy

Two packaging changes are planned: TSM Suite for Unified Recovery will add FlashCopy Manager, and a new pre-packaged TSM Virtual Appliance is expected.

... And That's Not All

Several other planned capabilities were discussed, too. This blog only touches on the highlights. Contact your IBM seller or IBM Business Partner for additional details.

#include <disclaimer.h>

A discussion of unreleased products requires the following standard IBM disclaimer:

The information contained in this publication is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to

verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this publication, it is provided AS IS without warranty

of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current product plans and strategy,

which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use

of, or otherwise related to, this publication or any other materials. Nothing contained in this publication is intended to,

nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM or its suppliers or licensors, or altering

the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software.

References in this publication to IBM products, programs, or services do not imply that they will be available in all countries

in which IBM operates. Product release dates and/or capabilities referenced in this presentation may change at any

time at IBM’s sole discretion based on market opportunities or other factors, and are not intended to be a commitment to

future product or feature availability in any way. Nothing contained in these materials is intended to, nor shall have the

effect of, stating or implying that any activities undertaken by you will result in any specific sales, revenue growth, savings

or other results.

About the Author

Mike Barton is a Worldwide Storage Marketing Manager at IBM. Prior to 2007, Mike was a Technical Manager and Principal IT Specialist for IBM, and a Sales Rep and Principal IT Specialist for Sybase. He holds ITIL Foundation and Gartner Group TCO Certifications. Mike has been with IBM over 15 years and has over 25 years of Information Technology experience. The opinions expressed herein are his own.

IBM InterConnect 2015 – the premier conference for cloud and mobile kicks off from February 22 – 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada - to deliver one of the most comprehensive technology events ever. While the excitement has already begun, let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons why you shouldn’t miss IBM InterConnect 2015:

General Sessions, Keynotes, and Break-out Sessions:

InterConnect 2015 offers you over 42 tracks, 8 streams, 3 general sessions to learn from the top industry experts about the latest and the greatest trends and technologies. From development to architecture to operations, InterConnect will provide 1500+ sessions worth of the best education, networking, and exhibits on topics like cloud, mobile, security, DevOps, and more. For instance, hear the latest IBM strategies from key executives like Tom Rosamilia, IBM SVP and gain insight from the General Session guest speakers, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, and Robert Herjavec of ABC's Shark Tank. InterConnect 2015 also offers you an opportunity to build your own agenda. Click here to learn more.

Business Partners Summit:

Save the date for the InterConnect 2015 Business Partner Summit, being held on February 22nd. This one-day summit offers a wide range of content and relationship building activities; networking with IBM executives, product and industry experts, and other Business Partners; and features bestselling author, venture capitalist, and entrepreneur Josh Linkner as the guest speaker. Download the Business Partner Summit Program Guide.

dev@InterConnect:

With great software, comes great responsibility! This year, thousands of software developers, architects, designers, and programmers will leave their language, platform, and editor wars behind to come together for two days of sessions, training, and building with the people and companies who are creating the new technology landscape. Hack, make, break, and shake with people who are super smart at what they do. Just like you. Click here to see what to expect from dev @InterConnect.

Solution EXPO:

The Solution EXPO at InterConnect 2015 is the hub for networking, collaboration, and engagement. We’ve also incorporated new architectural elements which create a modern, functional space that facilitates the many demos and discussions taking place on the EXPO floor. Click here to check the key features included in the Solution EXPO at InterConnect 2015.

Get Social with InterConnectGO:

InterConnectGO is the digital interactive platform for InterConnect 2015. Hosted by gamer and video star Veronica Belmont, the event features three full days of live streaming video straight to your laptop or mobile device. If you have colleagues who can’t attend InterConnect 2015, encourage them to register for InterConnectGO for the free online digital experience. Also, if you like being on social, there’s a whole new opportunity waiting for you. Just share your InterConnect story or experience and get a chance to be featured as InterConnect Social Jockey on @IBMStorage. Don’t forget to mention @IBMStorage and include hashtag #IBMInterConnect in your posts.

Isn’t it exciting! So what are you waiting for? Register now and be a part of InterConnect 2015 experience! For up-to-the-minutes updates, follow #IBMInterConnect or #IBMStorage on Twitter. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at nihtrive@in.ibm.com. I look forward to seeing you at InterConnect 2015!

With more than 90% of decision makers trending to cloud implementation to drive improved business outcomes, it is important to understand the key challenges organizations face when considering Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) in the cloud including:

How to leverage cloud storage as a storage tier for TSM

Moving data into more cost effective architecture while improving recovery

A recent survey was completed to understand how users plan to use TSM in the next three years. The trend indicates that pool usage for primary storage are -- 1). TSM dedup and 2). tier with #5 being identified as cloud. Cloud as #5! The projected growth for XaaS (anything as a service) will definitely have an impact for survey results in te next few years.

Another survey provided a view of the trend for disaster recovery (DR) pool usage over the next three years as follows: 1). TSM replication 39% (tape usage decreased); 2). Node replication increase 30%; 3). Copy storage pool backups to cloud increased to 32%.

Thus, to understand the true value that Data Protection as a Service can provide -- e.g. Xaas [BaaS, DRaas, AaaS, Iaas] the consideration includes:

Partner ecosystem -- build upon open interfaces

Transmission of data to cloud -- be selective about data that goes to the cloud

Security -- encryption in flight / at rest

Economics -- in house TSM, likely cost less

The aspects of cloud data protection solution can be summarized as:

Service Model -- services offered; managed by customer, IBM or 3rd Party

Do you need a more simplified approach for deploying Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) for Virtual Environments (VE)? Are you experiencing issues because data backup ratios promised by IBM marketing for TSM cannot be matched? Do you want to know more about how backup experts with multiple deployments are handling? Then, reading this blog can help address your questions while removing some frustration.

First, it is important to note that the solution design case study is based on TSM v6.4, yet is also valid for TSM v7.1 (announced Oct 2013) due to the following criteria:

Scalability and performance

Data reduction capabilities (deduplication)

Reporting

Administration and monitoring

Hardware snapshot (flashcopy)

Next, the case study covers a client environment with small scale number of VMs (i.e. 500); yet, the findlings / results apply to environments up to 2000 VMs. The detail outlines a strategy leveraging three elements: Transition, VSphere architecture, and Backup Storage Device Selection (see further description of elements at bottom).

The dedup ratios should be benchmarked to insure realistic estimates are used.

When considering cost and restore performance, it is important to evaluate the trade-off between performance and storage costs; consider co-location by file space (VM) with tape virtual tape library (VTL) as well as specify critical VMs configured as exception for management.

Now About Those Ratios
If you've attained a dedup ratio closer to 3:1 that can actually equate to 25:1 reduction ratio when you consider whether reduction is based on change data versus the data of entire environment. The case study also examined network constraints, VTL selected and sizing.

Therefore, the main takeaway -- with the right strategy, use of TSM blueprinte and the following simplified estimate considerations:

In the past two years that IBM acquired Butterfly, it generated hundreds of Analysis Engine Reports (AER) analyzing billions of gigabytes and established facts about Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) that should make competition sit up and notice.

The Backup Analysis Engine report from Butterfly Software uses light-touch, agent-less software technology to analyze existing heterogeneous data backup environment. It is a non-intrusive analysis based on empirical production data collected in minutes and incorporated into the Backup Analysis Engine report from IBM Butterfly Software.

Why is Butterfly important?Gartner Magic Quadrant: Backup and Recovery 2013 Competitive analysis says between 2012 and 2016, one-third of organizations will change backup vendors due to frustration over cost, complexity and/or capability. To be able to say conclusively that TSM solution can save backup infrastructure costs by as much as 38% when compared to some of the other competitive products opens the door for IBM to go get these 33% of the organizations looking for a change.

AER is the KeyMore demand for AERs is expected with the launch of the automated “self-service” AER generation model. Scheduled to go live at the beginning of 2H 2014, it will scale out as a service to IBM and its Business Partners. These facts drive home the fact that Butterfly AERs have metamorphosed into a well accepted and standard approach to storage infrastructure analytics.

Meet the Butterfly Storage and Backup Assessment Team at Pulse 2014If the butterfly flutter has caught your interest, visit Pulse 2014 on Feb 23-26 at Las Vegas and meet the folks who deliver Butterfly Storage and Backup Assessments in the IT Optimization section of the IBM booth. Find out how your company can use business analytics to dramatically lower the cost of running your backup and recovery or primary storage infrastructure.

I am often asked... "When can I use FlashCopy Manager with my EMC disk array?" (substitute "EMC" with your favorite vendor)

With FlashCopy Manager for Windows, you can leverage hardware snapshots for any disk array that has a VSS Hardware Provider. This is because Windows has a built-in architecture (referred to as "VSS") that enables pluggable snapshot support. We wrote a developerWorks article that explains how this works and how it integrates with TSM a few years ago. (Note: This article refers to "TSM for Copy Services" instead of "FlashCopy Manager" because it was written before the product name was changed.)

But, with FlashCopy Manager for UNIX and Linux and FlashCopy Manager for VMware, you must wait until support is added for your desired disk array. Last year, IBM partnered with Rocket Software to develop a device adapter pack that plugs in to FlashCopy Manager for UNIX and Linux and FlashCopy Manager for VMware to extend support to more storage devices. You install it on top of an existing FlashCopy Manager (version 4.1 or later) installation on the application server being protected by FlashCopy Manager for UNIX (or on the proxy backup server in case of FlashCopy Manager for VMware) and configure it to talk to the storage device. After that, you are able to leverage the power of FlashCopy Manager snapshot protection for the hardware device supported by that device adapter pack!

At the end of last year, Rocket Software released support for EMC Symmetric (VMAX and DMX). They are planning to add more disk arrays in 2014. If you have devices that you want to see added, contact Rocket Software.

Recently, Forrester published The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Backup And Recovery Software, Q2 2013. I wasn’t surprised by their suggestion that “CommVault [Sympana 10.0], EMC [Avamar 7.0 and NetWorker 10.1], IBM [TSM 6.4), and Symantec [Netbackup 7.5] lead the pack. It’s a tight four-horse race for the top honors — [they] all scored high on strategy and current offerings.” These are the four vendors that are always pushing and shoving on each other in analyst comparisons. The thing that caught my attention in this report was the expert job analyst Rachel Dines did in pealing back a complex market space to uncover some important strategic observations about each vendor. Read more...

IBM Edge2013 is fast approaching and while the conference includes four events within an event to appeal to wide range of attendees, the cornerstone of Edge from my perspective is the rich technical content to be delivered within Technical Edge.

TechnicalEdge is a 4.5 day technical event for IT professionals and practitioners focused on sharpening expertise, discovering new innovations and learning industry best practices. You can check out the published agenda of the over 350 sessions spanning 16 tracks Technical Edge that are sure to hit on the top IT trends, opportunities and challenges we collectively face.

Specifically related to Cloud & Smarter Infrastructure, we’ve embedded over 50 technical sessions, demos and hands-on labs specifically focused on Tivoli solutions with the majority going deep on Tivoli Storage capabilities. Further there’s an additional 30 related sessions of interest to Tivoli users (i.e. IBM Storwize V7000, IBM Flex System Manager, IBM GPFS, etc.). These 80 sessions are scattered across the 16 tracks within the Technical Edge conference. (Hint: You can find the majority of these sessions within the Business Continuity and Systems Management tracks)

We will also have an interesting “Birds of a Feather (BOF)” session on Business Continuity led by Sanjay A. Patel – focused on using the Tivoli Storage Manager suite to help you proactively protect your data.

I encourage you to join us at the Technical Edge and enhance your knowledge of our Tivoli Solutions and look forward to “getting technical” in Vegas. Learn more and register today.

As I’ve been working with many members of the Tivoli Storage team to coordinate our involvement atIBM Edge 2013and as the conference nears it struck me the other day -- Edge really does have something for everyone. While the historical focus of this event has been storage—and storage content remains particularly strong—this year, IBM is expanding that focus to address related areas of IT optimization as well: cloud, smart analytics and big data, business continuity, and many more.

And not only the IT topics being covered are expanding -- so are the types of audiences that will have an interest in Edge. With four events under one roof, each aimed at the needs of different audiences, Edge 2013 promises not to disappoint – regardless of the role you have in IT. Just in case you aren’t sure if Edge is for you, below is the summary of the “four events within the event” and the highlights of Tivoli Storage in each:

Executive Edge:Executive Edge is a 2.5 day event for IT executives and leaders focusing on discovering new innovations for managing storage growth, accelerating cloud deployments, unlocking the insights from big data, and securing critical information and processes. Deepak Advani, General Manager of IBM Tivoli Software, who takes the stage multiple times in Executive Edge will host a two- hour session entitled "Key Insights for Modernizing Your Data Protection Infrastructure" designed to help you shield critical data from threats both known and unknown. Deepak will not only provide IBM’s perspective on this critically important topic but will invite clients, analysts and IBM Business Partners to the stage to join the discussion. In addition to wealth of thought leadership this session will unveil the latest enhancement to the Tivoli Storage portfolio: IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Operations Center that was previewed to rave reviews earlier this year at Pulse. More details on Executive Edge can be found by previewing the agenda.

Technical Edge: Technical Edge is a 4.5 day technical event for IT professionals and practitioners focused on sharpening expertise, discovering new innovations and learning industry best practices. Featuring over 350 sessions to choose from, you’ll hear from product and developments experts with deep technical expertise who will not only introduce new IBM offerings and updates, but will put them into action through hands-on labs and demonstrations that closely match real-world operating conditions. In particular, for those interested in Storage software there will be 35 Tivoli Storage-led sessions spanning 9 of the 16 technical tracks, with especially deep content in the business continuity and systems management tracks. For more specifics check out the Technical Edgeagenda.

MSP Summit: For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), the two-dayMSP Summitfocuses on topics that are unique to this community and is designed to help organizations accelerate service delivery to become next generation MSPs. Strategic discussions will include topics such as Cloud, Next Generation Systems & Storage, and Big Data. One particularly interesting business opportunity for MSPs today is Cloud-based Backup as a Service with two successful Tivoli Storage MSP’s (Cobalt-Iron and Front-Safe) slated to share their experiences.

Winning Edge: The tail end of Edge will include a three-day sales bootcamp catering to the needs of IBM Business Partner (BP) sales professionals. Everything BP’s need to know to be successful will be discussed such as the opportunities related to IBM’s Butterfly acquisition, Storage Virtualization supported by marketplace perspectives of an independent Storage consultant. This information won’t just be theoretical; it's all founded on the real-world, quantified results already being achieved by IBM Business Partners and customers around the world, also to be discussed.

While I’ve tried to highlight the four discrete events within the Edge event this really only scratches the surface of Edge. There’s all the other valuable aspects – the hours of networking opportunities, Executive 1x1’s and the Solution Expo Hall where you can connect with subject matter experts from over 50 sponsors just to name a few.

Clearly I can’t do the Edge conference justice in a single blog but hopefully this gives you a sense of what you can take advantage of and that there truly is something for everyone at Edge. To learn more please check out the conference website and I hope to see you in Vegas in June at Edge2013.

Jeff Jones is senior infrastructure manager at UNUM, a leading provider of financial protection benefits in the US and UK.UNUM has about 85% virtual servers today.UNIM uses Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments to deliver faster backups and restores, and reduce the risk of data loss for 650 Windows and Linux VMs.

Front-safe received the Best Cloud Solution award at the IBM Pulse 2013 conference, and the 2013 IBM Beacon Award for the Best Solution to Optimize the World’s Infrastructure.Learn about the value of enabling backup as a cloud service, using Front-safe Portal software.

BJ Klingenberg is a Distinguished Engineer and Enterprise Storage Management lead for IBM.BJ shares his experiences using IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center in IBM’s Service Provider environment. Service Provider environments are governed by Service Level Agreements, so managing capacity, performance and availability are essential capabilities. Storage efficiency is essential to remaining competitive.See how TPC helps IBM deliver outstanding customer service at competitive prices.

The OpenStack Foundation has gained 170 corporate and over 8,200 individual members since its inception in 2012, making it one of the fastest growing cloud standards.Jonathan Bryce, Executive Director and founder of the OpenStack Foundation, and Todd Moore, IBM Software Group Director of Interoperability and Partnerships discuss the capabilities and opportunities for building cloud solutions using OpenStack to manage compute, storage and network resources.

Deepak Advani, General Manager of Tivoli Software discusses top issues and opportunities facing clients as they adopt new breeds of applications to engage with customers and improve operations using mobile devices, cloud and analytics.

Wow!What an exciting week it has
been at Pulse 2013!Especially, for Tivoli Storage!In addition to the inspiring words of Day 3’s
keynote speaker, Peyton Manning, I was also equally inspired by many of our
Tivoli Storage Business Partners like Cobalt Iron, Silverstring, Front-Safe and
STORServer, who led sessions on exciting topics like how to create a cloud
service in a TSM environment, to how to transform your data backup costs into
business opportunities.

Lets start with the final day of Pulse General
Sessions which kicked off to a packed auditorium…..Jamie Thomas, IBM
Tivoli VP of Strategy and Development, took the stage first with a panel of IBM
Experts including CTOs Dave Lindquist, Jerry Cuomo, Sandy Bird,
and Sky Matthews.These key
technology leaders, with Jamie facilitating the discussion, led us through
their technology roadmaps around what’s new and what’s coming in Cloud,
Security Intelligence, the Mobile Enterprise and Smarter Physical
Infrastructure.Following this panel
discussion, Bruce Ross, General Manager for IBM GTS, helped explain how
his team is helping to enable the acceleration of cloud services.It was a great line-up of experts and many
shared examples of how our technologies are driving innovation.You canwatch the replay of the General Session here.

Next up on the main stage was Pulse
2013 Guest Speaker Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos.Peyton gave a heartfelt speech on the “art
and science of decision-making.”Are you
making the right decisions to deliver innovation?Are you sticking to your decisions?...were
some of the key topics covered.Offering
his perspective on Leadership, I think my favorite all-time quote was
this:“You can either be a warrior or a
worrier.”So true.Decisions backed by facts and data analysis
helps you drive the best decisions, and technology has greatly impacted this
process, he pointed out.Scott Hebner,
WW Tivoli VP of Marketing, joined him onstage with some great Q&A, that
ended with Scott going long, “up and out,” to catch a bullet pass from
Peyton.And, yes, pass caught, no
fumble!Thank goodness.

Now, on to our Tivoli Storage
sessions today which featured many of our Business Partners.Thomas Bak, CSO & Partner of
Denmark-based Front-safe, kicked off the morning with a very interactive
discussion on the topic of how to create cloud service around your Tivoli
Storage Manager environment.Front-safe,
a recent 2013 Beacon Award winner, is bringing TSM into new markets via a
cloud-enabled portal.He mentioned 3,000
end customers are already using this solution for backup, and backing up
literally 10,000+ servers!Front-safe’s
new cloud backup service provider, i-Sanity, also addressed their model of
“backup as a service” and they are the first Front-safe backup service provider
in South Africa.You can learn more by watching this great
Front-safe videohere.

Silverstring Ltd, another Tivoli
Storage Business Partner, led a session with customer Rabobank International, a
large global financial institution with many dispersed TSM systems, who told us
all about best practices that have been used for daily TSM administration.Great content was also shared that focused on
how these best practices and cloud-based automation software can be combined to
actually lower the cost of delivering TSM services and improve service levels.

Later in the
day, Richard Spurlock of Cobalt Iron
held an engaging session on how to transform your backup costs into business
opportunities.Cobalt Iron combines TSM
backup with a cloud experience in a simple deployment model that’s all about
flexible deployment options.Richard
really helped the audience better grasp how the costs and complexity of
enterprise backup can really “bankrupt” its value – and how Cobalt Iron’s
solutions can leverage your backup investments into a flexible and high
value data protection solution.Earlier
in the week, Cobalt Iron had been honored as a recipient of the 2013 Tivoli
Business Partner Awards finalist. Congratulations!

In one of the final Pulse 2013
storage sessions of the day, Business Partner STORServer delivered a compelling
presentation on how to provide Backup-as-a-Service with their STORServer Backup
Appliance and TSM.This session was of
great help for both large enterprises who were looking for how best to charge
for backup services, and also MSPs looking for additional revenue streams.

We also heard from
customers like Nyherji who told the audience all about how they use FlashCopy
Manager with TSM Node Replication to increase service levels and obtain high
availability.I was especially interested to hear about all the stellar benefits that these Tivoli storage solutions brought to their
business – from absolutely 0 downtime to hugely improved backup and recovery
times.As a result, Petur Eythorsson of
Nyherji, told a great story of how they completely redesigned their TSM
environment and added TSM Node Replication and FlashCopy Manager to complete
this solution.

I wrapped up my week at Pulse
2013 visiting with both old and new friends and colleagues later that evening,
continuing to recap what was my 3rd, and, I believe, BEST Pulse
ever!Congratulations and thank you to the IBM Tivoli Pulse team for a job well done.....I can’t imagine how the next Pulse
will trump this one, but, in true Tivoli
fashion, I am sure it will.

And, in case you are having Pulse 2013 withdrawals already, we’ve captured some engaging storage
videos this week that are already available to you now. I hope you can take a moment to relive some
of the great Tivoli Storage moments this week and listen to all the great things that analysts, thought leaders, our customers, and Business Partners are saying
about Tivoli Storage solutions:

And, in case you would like to hear more about what’s
new and cool coming from Tivoli Storage, you can always join us again in Vegas
this June for IBM Edge2013, which will
bring you more opportunities to connect with your colleagues and learn about
industry best practices for storage management, virtualization, and cloud technologies.

Following an outstanding PurePalooza party on Monday night that featured a 2-hour performance by 6-time Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood, you might have expected Tuesday’s General Session to be a little quieter than usual. However, that wasn’t the case at all as the energetic vibe from today’s session picked up right where Monday left off -- helping to quickly shake off the effects of a wild Monday night for many.

This morning’s 90-minute general session was themed “Best Practices in Action” and featured a client panel of IT leaders from AT&T, Equifax, Carolinas Healthcare System and the Port of Cartagena sharing how they are converting opportunities from Cloud, Mobility and Smarter Physical Infrastructures into tangible business outcomes.

The Unified Recovery & Storage Management track picked up on the General session theme with Tuesday’s breakout sessions featuring no fewer than TEN Tivoli Storage clients sharing real-life examples of how they were applying IBM Tivoli Back-Up and Recovery and Storage Management solutions to address a host of complex challenges. While this represents a just a tiny sliver of the valuable content, some of the session take-aways included:

• Irfan Karachiwala (Ph. D), Manager, Enterprise Data Strategy at Kindred Healthcare, a post-acute healthcare provider with over 450 locations in the U.S. has realized improvements in Recovery Point and Recovery Time Objectives by switching from data only backups to VM-based image back-ups using Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments;

• Redbook author Gerd Becker of Empalis Consulting, a German-based IBM Premier Business Partner recommended the use of TSM Fastback for Workstations to provide continuous protection and meet shorter Recovery Point Objectives (by the way you can try TSM Fastback for Workstations for free through the currently available trial);

• Petur Eythorsson of Nyherji, a Managed Service Provider in Iceland that provides management for 50 TSM servers mainly supporting mid-sized Windows-based environments confirmed that like many others, his client base has little patience for any recovery time beyond 2 hours;

• Huey Cantrell of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana reminded us that the overwhelming number of restore requests are for data that was recently backed-up so his IT organization spends it’s time and energy focused on the ability to quickly recover data created in the past few days;

• Eduardo Zalamena of Mitsubishi Motors of Brasil pointed out that within large organizations you can’t treat all data the same way. For example, a 2-hour restore time within some systems can be a catastrophic while for others it may be very appropriate. Eduardo recommended the implementation of system-specific recovery objectives to cost-effectively address requirements;

• John Clarke from United Healthcare that protects over 70 million Americans, has altered his teams approach back-up and recovery focus – emphasizing the restore over back-up primarily because of the emergence of Big Data systems such as Netezza and Teradata.

On a day that put IBM clients “front and center”, it was only fitting to close Tuesday with the Tivoli Storage Birds of Feather meeting. This two hour, highly-interactive discussion gave clients the opportunity to get all their questions answered and provide direct feedback to Tivoli Storage Executives, Developers and Product Managers.

Based on the buzz around the Storage breakouts it was clear that the client focus on Tuesday was a hit so a huge thank-you to all the clients who took the time to prepare and share their stories at Pulse2013. Pulse wouldn't be a reality without your contributions!!!

As another Pulse begins to wind down, it’s time to start thinking about IBM Edge2013 in June. The Edge conference will bring us back to Las Vegas to hear more clients describe how they are Optimizing Storage and IT. If you weren’t able to join the 8000 of us at Pulse2013, start making plans to attend Edge by finding out everything you need to know (including the early-bird discount available through the end of April) at the IBM Edge2013 Conference website.

The opening day of Pulse 2013 was one of the most exciting days I’ve had in 15 years at IBM. The fanfare, crowds, and keynotes were great.Carrie Underwood rocked.But the real excitement was about Tivoli storage software.Storage software was making an impression and turning heads.

Tivoli Storage Manager Operations Center is beginning its beta phase with hands-on labs, Expo Center demos, and a developer-led session on Monday afternoon.TSM Operations Center is the next generation of backup administration, and is unlike other backup administration dashboards.TSM Operations Center enables more consolidation, faster problem resolution, and better team collaboration.

People don’t usually get excited about backup software, but I heard the following comments:

"TSM Operations Center is the best thing to happen to TSM since incremental forever"

- Wanda Prather, Baltimore-Washington TSM User Group Member

“I’d like to congratulate the development team for the work they’ve done.I’ve been working with TSM for more than 10 years, and this is a great interface”

- Maria Carlizza, IBM Briefing Center Consultant

“This is flat out awesome.This is the best graphical user interface I’ve seen in the TSM world”

- Cyrus Niltchian, IBM Storage Technical Enablement

Wanda Prather, a TSM Consultant, User Group leader and member of the Early Access Program for TSM Operations Center, said there has been a real change at IBM.“I was amazed to see how fast our feedback was incorporated into the product.Listening has been the key.IBM has turned software development into a 2-way conversation." Two other Early Access Program members offered similar feedback.

I met some of the developers involved in this transformation.Marttine Wedlake is the User Interface Architect for TSM Operations Center.Martine and I worked the TSM Operations Center Ped during the lunch shift.In the afternoon, Colin Dawson and an Early Access Program client led a live demo session on TSM Operations Center.Colin has worked with IBM backup software for 20 years, since version 1 of ADSM (the precursor to TSM).One client called Colin, “the most patient man in the world” for his interest in user requirements.Martine and Colin are just 2 examples of the IBM talent working on TSM.At Pulse, I met 7 people with 20 years or more of TSM development experience.Very impressive!

Monday was a big day for Analyst involvement at Pulse.Analysts from Gartner, IDC and ESG offered guidance for storage professionals.

Dave Russell from Gartner kicked off the Storage track.Dave offered 5 top storage recommendations, ideas on the role of storage in cloud computing, and tips for modernizing backup.

Day 1 at Pulse 2013 was grand and exciting! I am not in Vegas and how do I know? No points for guessing, all thanks to
social media #IBMPulse and my friends in Vegas who are tweeting away every
moment of the event.

Today is for IBM’s business partners! Deepak Advani, Tivoli
General Manger reemphasized on the role of Business partners and how critical
it is for IT innovations to achieve business results.Todd has very well captured the essence
of this event in his Pulse
blog.

Day 1 was also the day of awards!! Congratulations are in
order

!IBM Tivoli Award for Best Data Management Center Solution
was picked up by CobaltIron. CobaltIron will cover their solution during their
Wednesday session, including how to transform data backup costs into a business
opportunity – a must attend session! (Watch out for session# 1914, Room# 114,
2:00pm on Mar 6)

Front-Safe got the IBM Tivoli Award for the Best Cloud Solutions.
Watch out for their session on March 6 (session# 2436, room# 114) highlighting how
to create a Cloud Service around IBM Tivoli Storage Manager.

Then came the real example of how we turn opportunities to positive
outcomes, Chris Gartner! We talk about technologies all day, but the one that
created ripples in twitter.com was the “Pursuit for Happiness”. Thanks Todd for
live
blogging from Pulse.

Day 1 evening was reserved for Birthday Celebrations! Yes, IBM
Tivoli Storage Manager Birthday turns 20!! The celebration marks two decades of
back-up and recovery management leadership. Solution expo hall was abuzz with storage
enthusiasts! Thanks to Dave Russell of Gartner Inc for having joined TSM's 20th
birthday celebrations!! Needless to say, what a great way to network with
Storage experts from around the world!

And what a way to end the Day 1, but a musical extravaganza!
Bella Electric Strings performed at the Expo opening.

Thanks folks for bringing Pulse to people who are tracking and trending the world over. What I may not know is how much you all won in the blackjack J..Have a good one!

Data protection matters! Actually it matters even more with the advent of big data. The unique challenges of managing & protecting big data has forced IT professionals to relook at their data backup & protection policies. Every year ESG conducts a forward looking spending intention survey. They shared a couple of interesting facts that do not surprise but definitely reinstate my thoughts. When organizations were asked what they would consider most important IT priorities over the next 16-18 months, 30 percent responded back saying “improved data backup & recovery”!

And when they were asked what they would characterize as challenges with their organizations’ current data protection processes and technologies, “cost” & “need to reduce back up time” came out to be the major concerns.

ESG analysts Mark Peters and Tony Palmer shared these insights as they took us through the results of their lab testing on Tivoli Storage Manager. If you are not familiar with IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), it is a scalable client/server software primarily designed for centralized, automated data protection. The goal of the ESG report is to educate IT professionals and provide insight into the advanced data backup technologies such as forever incremental back up, deduplication and why it is so important in current scenario. Click here for the ESG video.

The TSM Lab validation was performed using a combination of hands on testing, audits of IBM customers in live production environments and detailed discussion with IBM experts. The objective is to validate some of the valuable features and functions of the product and show how those can be used to solve real customer problems, and identify any area of improvement. IBM has continuously invested in TSM platform bringing innovation to data protection and recovery. ESG evaluates how the newer versions of TSM provide a turnkey solution to a range of data protection issues. They found that the two technologies (deduplication and progressive incremental backups) working in tandem were able to achieve 90 percent data reduction after just six incremental backups and 95 percent data reduction after ten backups. Replication function is also fully integrated with deduplication, thus optimizing quicker recovery during disasters. TSM uses policy-based automation along with intelligent move-and-store techniques, helping to reduce data administration efforts. Over all, ESG’s validation rightfully points to the key enhancements to the TSM platform that drive greater scalability, efficiency, and data availability. Please register and download the detail 23 page ESG Lab Validation Report here. Opinions are my own

Is it possible to achieve higher levels of data protection, recovery and availability for the virtualized systems than in your non-virtualized environment? Yes, is what you will hear from IBM and VMware at VMworld® 2012.

We’re all aware of how data protection and recovery has only gotten more complicated with the explosive growth in server virtualization. Applications running on virtual environments are becoming even more critical for business success, and the data volumes residing in virtual environments are growing in leaps and bounds. Also, given the shared physical resources of ESX/ESXi systems, a smarter approach to I/O intensive processes such as backup and recovery are needed.

As a virtual environment user, if you’re looking for faster backup and restore for the VMware datastores, then IBM Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager Version 3.1 (referred to as FCM 3.1) is the answer. It is designed to handle high demands - but how quick can it be?

Seeking to expunge all doubts, and recognizing the demand for efficient and fast backup of virtual machine data residing in VMware datastores, the Tivoli Storage Manager performance team carried out a benchmark test.

To assess how fast FCM 3.1 can meet the data protection demands from VMware virtual environments, the team conducted tests on VMware environments that have up to 1000 on-line virtual machines with a total capacity of 18 TB of disk space.

The results were astounding. Test results for up to 1000 virtual machines (the maximum tested) showed that FlashCopy backup elapsed time increases linearly with the number of virtual machines:* 500 virtual machines can be backed up by FCM 3.1 in 15 minutes

* 1000 virtual machines can be backed up by FCM 3.1 in 36 minutes

So how is this useful to you? FCM 3.1 provides:

* Simplified deployment and management of advanced, application-aware data backup* Improved backup and recovery times from hours to minutes* Improved administrative productivity by simplified management and automation of routine tasks

IDC has recently released its Worldwide Storage Software QView for the first quarter of 2012. In it, IDC estimates that the total Storage Software market for 1Q12 grew about 3.3% over 1Q11.IBM had a solid quarter while Symantec faltered, allowing IBM to take the overall #2 share rank position for 1Q12.

§In the Overall Storage Software Market, IBM moved up to #2 share rank position in 1Q12, gaining 2.0 share points over 1Q11.

§IBM retained its #1 position for Archiving Software growing faster than the market.HP holds #2 spot with its 2011 acquisition of Autonomy.

IBM offers a comprehensive, flexible storage management software portfolio that helps organizations address storage management challenges across the enterprise, including data centers, remote/branch offices and desktop/laptop computers. Learn more about the specific components within the IBM storage software family that can help you create a more responsive and resilient storage infrastructure for your on demand business.